In this August 22, 1998 file photo, Jalaluddin Haqqani speaks during an interview. — Photo by AP

KABUL: The Taliban took the unusual step Tuesday of insisting that it, not Pakistan, controls the Haqqani network, with Islamabad under growing US pressure to cut alleged ties with the group.

The militia advised Pakistan to prioritise “Islamic and national” interests and stand firm in the face of “America's two-faced and implacable politics”.

“Neither are our bases in Pakistan nor do we need residence outside of our country,” said the English-language statement in the name of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan —the Taliban's name for itself —on its Voice of Jihad website.

“All the military and civilian activities in the country are our own initiatives and our own actions.

“The respected Maulawi Jalaluddin Haqqani (the group's founder) is (one of the) Islamic Emirate's honourable and dignified personalities and receives all guidance for operations from the leader of the Islamic Emirate.”

Most analysts consider the Haqqani network a powerful Taliban faction loyal to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, with strong ties to al Qaeda.

“Our advice to the people of Pakistan and its government is that it should deliberate on America's two-faced and implacable politics,” said the Taliban.

“It should always give precedence to its Islamic and national interests and they should have a firm belief that America will never be happy with them until they loot all their material and moral assets.”

Opinion

Editorial

When medicine fails
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

When medicine fails

Between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40m people worldwide.
Nawaz on India
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

Nawaz on India

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes of better ties with India can only be realised when New Delhi responds to Pakistan positively.
State of abuse
18 Nov, 2024

State of abuse

DESPITE censure from the rulers and society, and measures such as helplines and edicts to protect the young from all...
Football elections
17 Nov, 2024

Football elections

PAKISTAN football enters the most crucial juncture of its ‘normalisation’ era next week, when an Extraordinary...
IMF’s concern
17 Nov, 2024

IMF’s concern

ON Friday, the IMF team wrapped up its weeklong unscheduled talks on the Fund’s ongoing $7bn programme with the...
‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs
Updated 17 Nov, 2024

‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs

If curbing pornography is really the country’s foremost concern while it stumbles from one crisis to the next, there must be better ways to do so.